Every year Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving Day on the second Monday of October. This has been a tradition since 1957 and is linked to the harvest festivals of the European. Last year, I got a chance to eat turkeys and pumpkin pies, however this year I missed both; I had beef steak and apple pies, instead. Not bad 🙂

The event on Thanksgiving Day has passed, but its spirit should always be with us throughout the years. Believe that thankfulness is an efficacious medicine to greediness as we live in an age of constant dissatisfaction, where human tend to take anything for granted. Remember, no matter what happens to you, always rejoice and be thankful.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

(Philippians 4:6-7, NIV)

In this moment, I want to challenge you to write down, as many as possible, the things you are thankful for, no matter big or small, either over the past few days, weeks, months, years, or even the course of your life. You might be surprised that the list can go on and on, beyond what you could ever think of.

Alright, without further ado, let me go first with my thanksgiving list over the past year here. (This list is arranged randomly and the order does not necessarily reflect the level of importance)

1. Thank God for healthy body and mind of mine and my loved ones. I’m grateful for the five senses that still function well.
2. Thank God for my study and research work in which I could earn knowledge, experience, and also… stipend and scholarships 😀
3. Thank God for all people who’ve been kindly supporting me. I’m thankful for my parents, professors, pastors, and all friends in school and church.
4. Thank God for giving me the opportunity to learn cooking for my daily meals. Also, I’m thankful for all the foods and drinks, either the free or the purchased ones, for my breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
5. Thank God for all the physical or material blessings, such as clothes to wear and electronic devices to use everyday.
6. Thank God for nice weather and beautiful views in Vancouver.
7. Thank God for protecting my journey on the roads everyday. I’m thankful that since I don’t yet have a car, no expenses for gasoline or parking fees are required. Public transits are, thankfully, quite convenient here.
8. Thank God for giving me a place to stay with such a warm-hearted family. I’m thankful for enough rest and proper sleep every night.
9. Thank God for bringing me to the places I’ve never been before, both inside and outside Canada. In the end of last year, especially, I got a chance to visit my uncle’s family in Los Angeles.
10. Thank God for my marriage! I’m so much thankful for a beautiful wife, bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. I can never thank our parents enough for all their love and supports, especially with respect to the engagement and wedding preparation.
11. Thank God for the honeymoon time. We had a summer vacation for 12 days in France and Italy. I’m grateful for the successful arrangements, from the visa application to the itinerary schedule.
12. Thank God for the long distance relationship with my girlfriend-turned-out-to-be-wife. During this season, we have been learning about the values of faith, trust, endurance, patience, and many other important lessons.
13. Thank God for the recent approval for my wife’s visa application to Canada, which means that our LDR will come to an end soon.
14. Thank God for the new place ready prior to my wife’s coming.
15. Thank God for the information technology and social media which have been very helpful in facilitating communication with my loved ones. I’m grateful for all the smart and intelligent people who have worked “behind the scenes”.
16. Thank God for giving me new ideas that I can continuously share my stories through this blog. I’m so grateful for the gift of writing.
17. Thank God for showing me the books I need to read and all the valuable articles from internet which have been very useful source of my inspiration.
18. Thank God for enabling me, under the supervision of my professors, to publish the fourth scientific paper in the reputable journal, in addition to our previous three articles. I’m thankful for all the citations.
19. Thank God for people who’ve been praying for me and my family, in addition to those who’ve been inspiring me through their life experiences.
20. Thank God for my siblings as well as spiritual brothers and sisters, who’ve been a great source of my encouragement.
21. Thank God for people who dislike me because of my personality, views, beliefs, or even fortunes. I’m thankful that because of them I’ve been more motivated to be a better person everyday.
22. Thank God for the inspiring public figures, from whom I can learn so many great lessons. I’m grateful for the modesty of President Joko Widodo, the audacity of the former Governor of Jakarta Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, the life testimonies of Nabeel Qureshi, and the brilliance of David Wood.
23. Thank God for the wisdom to my parents-in-law, who have given me valuable advice necessary for my personal and spiritual growth.
24. Thank God for the faith and labors of my parents, which I believe, would be the most precious legacy for us in the days to come.
25. Thank God for the patience of my wife. Love is patient, and yes she loves me! Indescribable gratitude for the love of my life.
26. Thank God for all the troubles and difficult circumstances I’ve faced, which have been turned into the opportunities for developing my characters.
27. Thank God for forgiving my sins through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross.
28. Thank God for the assurance of hope, peace, and joy in the midst of worldly tribulations.
29. Thank God for the gracious gift of eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ our Savior.
30. Thank God for this 30 years of life and for making me realize that life is not about me. I’m very much thankful for Jesus Christ and his revelation. Let everything that has a “NAME” realize that life is “Not About ME”. Life will one day be history and yes, it’s HIS story, all about the ONE whose name is above every name.

Alright guys, that’s it!

The above list can go further but there’ll be no enough space to write down everything here. I guess yours will be the same too. Thus, you may also want to make a list based on the numbers of years you’ve been living for.

OK, now is your turn to count your blessings!